Why Teens Shouldn’t Diet
Dieting can be defined as restricting calories or food groups (Deal with Diets: kidshealth.org). With the number of obese people growing, it’s no wonder that people are starting to diet, and “in 1988, Americans spent 32 billion dollars on diets and diet products (Baird: Women’s Health Fact Sheet).” A problem arises when teens start restricting their food, because dieting can be very harmful to a teenager’s still-developing body. It can also be harmful to the teen’s psychological health as well. “80% of teen girls are unhappy with their bodies and weight (Community Action: 27% of Teens in Peril from Dieting), and 50% of teen girls incorrectly believe that they are overweight, increasing the likelihood that they will diet (Strauss 741).” Dieting comes with its own host of problems which is why teens should definitely not diet because it can cause obesity, eating disorders, and nutrient deficiencies.
Some people may be surprised by the fact that dieting can actually cause obesity later. It seems like a paradox, but it really isn’t. When someone else controls the way you eat, it’s very natural to rebel. Also, when someone diets, it slows down their metabolism, and when a person starts eating like they used to, the metabolism doesn’t have any time to adjust to that, and there is a weight gain. Plus, dieting lowers a person’s blood sugar, which can trigger depression, then trigger binge eating, which leads to weight gain (Drohan 30-32). This may all seem like theory, but there have been two recent studies to explore it further. Harvard Medical School put together a study, testing this theory, and the results were surprising. What they found after testing 8,203 girls and 6,769 boys was that the adolescents who dieted frequently actually gained more weight each year than other children. Both the males and females suffered from the boomerang effect of dieting, and gained, on average, two pounds more than the non-dieters. They then determined that the weight gain was due to the fact that when teens diet, they are restricting themselves. When a person cuts down on calories, it becomes very hard for them to control the cravings, desires, and the hunger. When they can no longer control themselves, ...
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...bsp;Overall, dieting can be very dangerous. It can lead to obesity, cause eating disorders, or be the source of nutrient deficiencies. Teens diet for a variety of reasons, but they really shouldn’t, because it really can be detrimental to their health. What teens need to realize now is that if they practice unhealthy eating now, they are setting themselves up for physical and mental problems late in life, which won’t help themselves or their loved ones. A teen needs to also identify the reasons why they are thinking of dieting anyway. Yes, it might be because they are obese, but many people incorrectly believe that they are overweight, and there are causes of that, which need to be addressed. Teens diet because they are on a quest for the perfect body, but they need to realize is that their perfect body may not match the body they see on the television or in magazines. Any teen who starves herself to become thin is only setting herself up for disaster. Teens just need to try to accept themselves for who they are, and then everyone else will accept them also. They need to realize that it’s not worth their health to go on a quest for the perfect body that has been airbrushed anyway.
In conclusion, society’s influence sparks the initial thought that skinny is pleasurable and desirable. Adolescents will buy into this misconception that they get from the media and society. When this misconception is bought into, it can cause serious consequences as the individual looks for extreme measures of weight control. This weight control can be contained by helping individuals struggling with Anorexia and Bulimia fix their distorted view of themselves, eliminating the negative influence one media source at a time.
I use to think the people became obese at older ages, but I realized that’s not the case because in society now days all one hears is a six year old being obese before their even six-teen. President Obama and his wife Michelle have tried to stop obesity by fixing the matters at school. I believe that it’s good to know that they care, but that’s not solving the problem being that that many don’t eat at school so they go home and eat whatever they want. Two articles that I have previously read Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko and What You Eat IS Your Business by Radley Balko have strike my attention, but Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko would be better than What You Eat Is Your
Eating Disorders are on a rapid rise in the United States today, they sweep the halls of Junior High School, High Schools, College Campuses and even Elementary Schools. These disorders are often referred to by professionals as the “Deadly Diet,” however you may know them as Anorexia or Bulimia. Eating disorder effect more than 20% of young females and males in today’s society. Ranging in age from thirteen to forty. It is very rare for a child of a young age to not know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder or symptoms that are associated with one. Statistically it has been proven that one out of every five young woman suffer from serious issues dealing with eating and or weight. (Bruch, 25)
Typically, teenage girls gain weight during puberty. During this time they also start to worry more about what their body looks like, due to hormones. Statistics shows that teenage girls body image goes dramatically down once they have their first period. This can be frustrating to these individuals because they desire to have a lower BMI than they ever did before, but at the same time their BMI is going up. Some young people have felt pressure from adults to stay healthy or lose weight. These comments have large effects on them and can trigger dramatic dieting and weight loss when combined with lower
Obesity has been associated with energy intake and expenditure imbalance, genetics, cultural, socioeconomic, behavioral, and situational factors all play a role in eating and weight control (Bray, 2005). To get an idea of the scope of the problem, the American Journal of Health Promotion states that the rates of obesity has more than tripled among children and adolescents over the past 30 years (Gollust, 2014).
Although inherited conditions have been linked to childhood obesity, they are rare. However it has been noted that children with obese or overweight parents are more than likely to be obese themselves, the reason for this as described by Heaton-Harris (2007) is because of the length of time it takes to break a bad habit. Unless the parents are correctly informed of healthy diets themselves the problem will continue from an ill-informed childhood into adult hood. Other probable causes are numerous ones. Fast food and processed foods becoming more read...
With an estimated one in three American adolescents being classified as overweight or obese many parents are turning away from traditional lifestyle modification approaches to more radical methods of combating adolescent obesity. Excessive weight at young ages has been linked to a wide range of comorbidities including hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and elevated blood cholesterol which is connected to higher and earlier death rates in adulthood (Kelleher, Merrill, Cottrell, Nadler, & Burd, 2013). Since the early 70’s the prevalence of overweight adolescents has increased from an average of 5% to an alarming 18% with obesity being the number one health concern for parents trumping drug abuse and smoking (www.heart.org).
Adolescent obesity is a very serious issue and the need for nursing interventions has never been more prominent. The majority of cases of teenage obesity have been linked to poor eating habits (kids and obesity). Further emphasizing the immense need for new nursing interventions to promote healthy eating habits. Aims of Study The purpose of this study is to understand and analyze current trends in food choices among overweight and obese adolescents with hopes of discovering strategies that can be useful in reducing the risk of habitual poor eating habits.
In further studies, obesity is proven to lead children to have behavior problems as they get older. “In addition, research has found that overweight children tend to become adolescents with lower self-esteem and significantly higher rates of sadness, loneliness and nervousness. They’re also more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors such
Childhood obesity is a health problem that is becoming increasingly prevalent in society’s youth. For a number of years, children across the nation have become accustomed to occasionally participating in physical activities and regularly snacking on sugary treats. In result of these tendencies, approximately one third of American children are currently overweight or obese (Goodwin). These grim statistics effectively represent all the lack of adult interference, in regards to health, has done to the youth of America. The habits of over consuming foods and under participating in physical activities are all too common in the children of today. Children cannot solve this issue alone, though. These young people need to essentially be given the opportunities to make positive health decisions and learn about good, nutritional values.
"Diet, Nutrition, and Weight Issues among Children and Adolescents." Barbara Wexler. 2008 ed. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Information Plus Reference Series. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Some parents or people do not understand why or how their children become obese. There are many explanations for this. One can simply be consuming too much food into one’s body.
Kids and teens who eat better and stay active have a higher self-esteem than kids who sit at home and eat junk food all day. “Over processed foods are linked to feelings of depression. Healthy eating naturally makes a child feel great due to the high quality of nutrition available in natural wholesome foods and low sugar and fat content,” Carla Daffy(2). A child’s self-esteem is very important if they feel good about themselves and how they look then they will have the confidence to succeed in other areas of life as well. You want to make sure not to put too much pressure on kids or teens about their image because that could damage their self-esteem if they don’t feel “up to standards.” Instead of opinions on what they’re doing wrong, eat healthy with them, do activities with them. Show them there is no pressure and let them follow your example. Kids who feel great will do
Many folks who become obese are people who abuse the calories their body needs on a daily diet. As stated in “Overweight and Obesity Statistics”, everyone body needs a certain amount of energy from foods to have a proper balance. If the calories you have eaten sum up to the amount of calories you have used or have not burnt, you will start to have a problem if this eating habit continues. You will now be in the stage of overweight, if you do not burn the extra calories you consumer. In March 2004 the CDC publishes a study showing that poor eating habits and lack of exercise were the second leading death in the Untied States (“Chronology”). For example, one major reason why people become obese in America is because the environment is full of fast food restaurants. If you look to your left you will see McDonald’s, you look to your right, and you see Jack in The Box, you look behind you and there is Carl’s Jr, and if you look in front of you and you see a Burger King. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, “17% of children and adolescents (aged 2-19) are obese. The prevalence of obesity in America has risen dramatically over the past two decades and continues to increase” (qtd. “Weight Control and Diet”). You see these places all over the place and not to mention food advertising is a big cause for obesity. According to What Causes Overweight
Someone that is overweight, in a sense, reflects what they eat, how they live, or what their family background is. If the problem is ignored, results can be detrimental or even terminal. Through appropriate conduct, a robust lifestyle can be established. For that reason, teenage obesity can be conquered. The more people are educated on the topic of adolescent obesity, the greater the movement to help those at risk will be. Hopefully, with this knowledge in mind, over the years statistics on adolescent obesity will change for the better.